


Fracture

by DIVINECARRION



Category: No Fandom
Genre: 90s, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Coming of Age, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Homophobia, Humor, M/M, Multi, Slow Burn, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-13 06:01:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29646858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DIVINECARRION/pseuds/DIVINECARRION
Summary: Emmett Maxwell, 15 moves onto the other side of the U.S, to Michigan from Nevada with his sister Eden and his adoptive parents. Originally hailing from a private school, being thrown into a high school with a gym with a dirt floor, and teachers and students fighting in the hallways was not how Emmett expected to start his freshman year. The people in this school were violent, disrespectful, and careless. The teachers weren't much better, either. Most of them cursed at students, and completely failed to do their jobs- sometimes failing to even show up. Despite the culture shock, Emmett had a few characters thrown at him to make his school career a little more enjoyable. Two juniors, one with a knack for running from trouble, and the other with an attitude and smoky eyes. Torin, one of the said juniors however, shows himself to be alluring to Emmett, confusing him on just who he really is and his feelings towards him.
Relationships: Emmett(Grey)/Torin, Fey/Nick, Torin/Emmett(Grey)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone that is kind enough to read this. I'm DIVINECARRION, the author, and I proudly present my first actual story. I have had the idea of these characters for around 3-4 years, developing them more and more with character development and numerous character changes. I hold them close to me, as they have been around in my created universes for years. And now I finally find the courage with some gentle pushes from my peers, to publish an official story. So with their help I bring to you 'Fracture'. I know it won't be perfect, but I have put countless hours into planning it and writing these chapters to the best of my ability, so I plead you all to be gentle with it. I do accept constructive criticism, but not hate. I hope you all enjoy reading this and continue to read it on it's journey, and enjoy it as much as I did writing it. Thank you :)

It was a warm summer that year, every day topping out at a scorching 90 degrees at least. The sun beat down on dried out brown grass and sweaty kids playing in their yards. Public rec centers were packed full of rowdy kids and stressed out parents looking for a moment of peace. Weather men on the news talked about how this was the hottest summer in years, earning a collective groan from families in their living rooms with fans on full blast. 

It was the summer of 1995, and a summer Emmett Maxwell would never forget. 

15 year old Emmett had just moved to a small town in Michigan on one of the hottest summers of the year, into a mediocre highschool for his freshman year. Being a freshman was hard enough without being new to the state, Emmett thought. Now he was being thrown into a school full of loud, different looking kids that disrespected teachers and beat each other up in the hallways. Emmett traveled down the foyer of the one story school that was packed like sardines with students, a crumpled paper in his hands with his schedule and locker number on it in font just big enough to read. 

Emmett finally pushed his way through the sea of students without getting elbowed in the face, much to Emmetts surprise. Once he found himself presented with a long wall of rusty, beat up lockers, Emmett began the hunt to find his. Unfortunately when he found it, he was stood in front of a tiny locker on the bottom stack that looked like it hadn’t been touched with a cleaning product in decades. 

Emmett grimaced. 

The teen dropped to a crouch, and took the frail padlock off of the door to the locker only to have it fall apart in his hands. Emmett powered through the urge to gag from just how badly the rusted metal smelled. He pulled the door to the locker open with an ear piercing screech of metal on metal, just to watch the door fall onto the floor with a clank. 

Emmett suppressed the voice in him just telling him to go to the office and say that he wanted his mom to come pick him up. Everything that had happened so far that day was telling him this was not the place for him. It took him almost ten minutes alone to find his locker, not to mention his mom bringing him in a little later than wanted, because, “You don’t understand, Emmett. I need my coffee, you’ll understand when you’re a grownup.”. Well Emmett believed he was grown enough to know waiting in a drive through for a fast food mocha for 30 minutes was a poor decision, but he decided to keep his mouth shut on that one. 

An exasperated sigh came from Emmett as he heard the first bell ring. He shoved his bookbag into the tiny cubby of a locker, and propped the door up against the locker. Students pushed to their rooms in a frenzy, yapping loudly about their mornings and how much they hated their teachers. Drained staff members walked to their rooms holding coffees, looking like they would rather be on fire then go in. 

Emmett fixed his hair in the reflection on the semi-empty trophy case at the other end of the foyer, pushing his messy platinum, almost silver blonde hair into a half decent look. The duffle bags under Emmett’s eyes made him look like he hadn’t touched a bed in years, but quite frankly Emmett had not been able to sleep quite well after moving to Michigan. 

His adoptive parents Helen and Jeremy were always arguing, pushing each other in all the wrong ways. If it could be debated, they were yelling about it. Where did the box for the movies go, why aren’t any of the windows open, and get off your ass Emmett and help me bring the coffee table in. Emmett’s older sister, Eden was of little to no help either. She was 19, and on the cusp of leaving the family for good. Long, bright blue hair and raccoon eyes. Eden was rarely home, always out with someone, and since she knew no one in Michigan yet, she just hung out at skate parks on her own. 

She avoided family time like the plague. 

Not like Emmett could blame her, he hated being around his adoptive parents, too. They picked on Emmett for every little thing at any opportunity, grades, his room, the way he dressed, and where he went. And one of the things he hated them most of all for, was teasing him for his lack of friends. 

“How can you have your moms looks and still have no friends? Does your personality suck that badly?” Helen would scoff, and cross her arms over her chest. 

Emmett never really associated his lack of social life to his personality, he chalked it up to being a quiet spirit. He liked his alone time, and valued it highly. 

Something he would probably never find in this school.

When he walked inside his first period, Emmett had to act like his feet were glued to the floor so he didn’t turn and bolt. Kids sat on their desks talking to each other loudly, some other kids sat at their desks hunched over a paper they were scribbling on. At one moment Emmett believed he saw a book fly through the air and knock someone out of their seat, resulting in a wave of chuckles.  
The teacher sat at her splintering desk from the 60s, her head resting on her wrist as she blocked out the noise around her by reading a book. It didn’t look like she had any plans of calming the class anytime soon either. Her tired eyes were stuck to her book like if she looked up she would lose all of her sanity in one fell swoop. Emmett approached her desk slowly, holding his books to his chest like his life depended on it. 

“Excuse me?” Emmett said in a weak tone. 

The teacher didn’t budge an inch. 

“Uh, excuse me? Are you the English teacher?” Emmett said a little louder in a wobbly voice, leaning into her space. The woman jumped and leaned back in her seat instinctively, looking up at Emmett with frantic brown eyes. Her gray hair was up in a messy bun with stray hairs going every which way. The ID card clipped to her plain red button up blouse read, “Mrs.Stall”, with an old picture of her fake smiling next to it. 

“Who are you?” 

“I’m Emmett Maxwell, I’m a freshman in your first period class?” 

Mrs. Stall gathered her senses and cleared her throat before flipping through her binder and sliding a finger down a hand written list of names until she landed on Emmett’s. 

“You’re late for your first day, Emmett. Did you have trouble finding this room?” Mrs. Stall gazed up at Emmett, trying to give an inviting expression. 

Finding the room was the easy part, Emmett thought. Trying to keep his locker from disintegrating and dodging feisty students was the hard part. 

“You could say that,” Emmett laughed nervously. 

Mrs.Stall nodded with a gentle, understanding smile. 

“Yeah, I get that a lot from our new students. I understand this school can be a little, overwhelming if you will. You can have a seat anywhere, Emmett.” She smiled brightly. After Emmett turned to find an open seat, Mrs.Stall stopped him.

“Also, Emmett? If you ever need anything, I will be here. I understand times are tough.” She winked, and Emmett’s face bloomed in a dark blush. He nodded eagerly before walking to a desk in the back left corner of the classroom. The desk looked like it had been through 2 world wars then set on fire. It was a miracle alone it was still standing. Obscene words were scratched into the surface, along with old blood stains scattered around its wooden top. 

Emmett just cleared his head, and put his stack of books on the desk, and pulled out some notebook paper and began to doodle for the rest of his first period. 

By the time lunch had rolled around, Emmett was sweaty and exhausted. In his second period social studies class, some kid was pushed out of the window and then locked out, which resulted in a janitor needing to be called to open the window. And in his third period class, Emmett witnessed his gym teacher spend 30 minutes of the 40 minute class explaining how he believed that the North Pole was a farce and didn’t actually exist. When he had finished his elaborate story and realized there were only 10 minutes left in the period, he made his students run for the remaining time. 

And his fourth period, it left Emmett scared to go back. 

One wouldn’t expect a cooking class to be scary, but this one was. When Emmett walked in, a wall of charred smoke hit him in the face. He instantly started coughing and covered his mouth and nose, a layer of black smoke hugging the ceiling of the cooking class. 

“I told y’all putting plastic in the oven would go wrong, but why would anyone listen to me?” A stout, round woman with oversized glasses and curly blonde hair yelled from behind the safety of her desk.

A group of giggling kids stood around a smoking oven, some with rags clamped over their mouths and others trying to get the melted container out of the oven. The smell grew so strong Emmett just turned and walked out, finding a secluded bathroom to sit in until lunch. 

Emmett got to the cafeteria significantly quicker than all the other kids, getting himself a nice table alone in the back corner of the room next to the wall lined with floor to ceiling windows. He set his books down, and pulled out his notebook paper. He unzipped his pale blue lunchbox and took from it a baggie of chips, a sandwich, and a bottle of water. Most likely to remain uneaten, Emmett pushed the items aside and began back up on his drawing that he started in English class. 

That is, until the yelling and hollering of students caught his attention. Emmett grumbled to himself and reluctantly picked his head up, just in time to witness a guy chasing another guy through the cafeteria. The one being chased was shorter than Emmett himself, but built thicker. He wore a white raggedy school team cut-off with jeans that had tears in the knees, topped off with dirty work boots. The teens skin was sunkissed, with freckles spread down his shoulders, neck, and cheeks. Loose, dark brown curls bounced on his head as he jumped over tables and pushed people aside, keeping a steady distance between himself and his capturer. 

What Emmett found most odd about the situation was the grin plastered on the guys face. It was like he was having fun, dragging this guy around the cafeteria in a chase he knew he would win. 

That is, until he was tripped. 

The guy in the cut-off. He hit the ground with an “ouff”, and was promptly tackled by his chaser. 

“Got you now bitch!” The other kid with a red face said in a gasp, before getting on top of the brunette and began beating him up. Some girls closer to the scene gasped and cowered, others giggled and pointed at the two boys. Some of the boys around the two began cheering. 

“Beat his ass Torin!” 

“C’mon, you really let him catch you Torin?” 

Emmetts curiosity got the better of him and he stood up a little to see the scene better. The brunette was taking the beating like a champ, taking hit after hit to the face without faltering. Blood was splattered on the floor and all over Torins face. Emmett looked around for a teacher, a staff member, or anyone to stop this fight. 

The kids cheering the fighters on grew louder, and Emmetts eyes widened. Torin had caught one of the kids flying fists, and twisted his arm backwards. The larger male on top cried out in pain and curled his body to the side awkwardly, and stood up off of Torin. Torin pushed himself to his feet, his hair a wild mess but a grin still was on his lips. Blood was smeared on his face, and one of his eyes was swelled shut. 

“You’d think 3 years in juvie would’ve taught you how to throw a punch but I guess not huh Jake?” Torin spat blood on the floor and pinned Jake to the floor under him, and planted a knee between his shoulder blades. 

“Fuck you Torin!” Jake yelled out from the floor. 

“No thanks, but your girlfriend was a pretty nice lay.” A blonde girl a few tables away in a skimpy pink top put her head down as her ears turned red. 

“I’ll beat your fucking ass!” Jake exclaimed, wriggling under Torins knee. 

Torin just chuckled and put his finger in his mouth and pulled it out, a string of saliva connecting it to his lips. He lowered his hand and jabbed his saliva soaked finger into Jakes ear, earning a cry of disgust mixed with pain. Torin’s grin only widened as he pulled away. 

“Heres one for the road, baby boy.” Torin kissed his closed fist and socked Jake in the face, rendering him unconscious. The tables around him clapped and cheered, Torin just waving his hand to calm them. 

Emmett blinked slowly as he tried to piece together whatever happened, his disbelief that during that entire fiasco no teacher or staff member even entered the cafeteria. He hesitantly lowered himself back into his seat, his lunch long forgotten. 

Hands slamming down on the table in front of Emmett pulled him from his thoughts, and Emmett’s heart dropped when he saw the bloodied knuckles. His eyes slowly crept up the broad arms, to an oddly kind face that was staring at him. Despite an eye being swollen shut, a busted lip and blood smeared on his chin and cheeks, Torin looked rather friendly. Kind, round doe eyes that were a bright yellow hazel color with a green ring gazed at Emmett. Dark lashes framed his eyes nicely, making Emmett think for a split second that he could’ve been wearing mascara. 

“Wow, look at that hair. I’ve never seen someone with gray hair before.” Torin said as he plopped down in a chair at the table, and snatched up Emmett’s bag of chips. Emmett was too much in shock to ask for his food back. 

“Gray hair?” Was all he could sputter out. 

Torin raised his eyebrows as he popped a chip into his mouth with a crunch. He hissed in pain at the salt touching his busted lip but continued munching.

“Yeah, your hair is so light blonde its like gray.” 

Emmett just nodded, not questioning the boisterous guys beliefs. The harsh ring of the bell startled Emmett, earning a small chuckle from Torin. Torin crumpled the empty bag up and tossed it at Emmetts forehead, and stood up. His chair slid out behind him and hit a kid behind him, but he paid no mind. 

“See you later, Grey?” Torin smirked and tousled Emmett’s hair before walking out of the cafeteria with heavy footsteps. 

“Grey..?” Emmett mumbled to himself quizzingly.


	2. Chapter 2

“So how was your first day of high school?” Helen looked at Emmett through the rearview mirror, her large, ugly sunglasses covering the majority of her face. Emmett sighed at the thought of his hectic day, his only desire at this point was to plop into his bed and hopefully crank out an hour of sleep. 

“I witnessed 3 fights before 5th period, and learned about how the North Pole was a hoax created by the government.” Emmett said in a bland tone, his head resting against the warm car window. Helen’s lip curled in disgust as she put her eyes back on the road. Emmett casually left out the fight he watched in 5th period that laid an odd feeling in his stomach for the rest of the day. Something about Torin didn’t settle right with him. 

What was it about those bloodied knuckles and kind eyes that wouldn’t let Emmett’s mind rest? In what way could those features possibly arouse Emmett’s attention? Was it a need for action in his life? No, he believed just walking the school grounds was enough action for one week. There was also one more factor Emmett forgot about that made his heart skip a beat. 

The nickname. Grey? What kind of nickname was that? Usually people teased him for his pale, vampire-like skin, or the fact that he was extremely uncoordinated. But Grey? This one threw Emmett for a curveball, and left his stomach in twists. The scene replayed in Emmett's head, rewinding how Torin looked while saying it, his body relaxed, and his eyes set on Emmett's. His plush, slightly swollen red lips with a cut through the bottom lip. 

The smile. 

It made Emmett turn red thinking about it in the present. It was just a smile, what was so special about it? Torin deemed himself to be just like all the other kids in that school, so what piqued Emmetts interest about him? Grey closed his eyes and tried to block out the intrusive thoughts, deciding there was no point in worrying about it.

Torin was just one loud kid that Emmett would have to avoid, like usual.

Or so Emmett thought. The next day rolled around, and Helen dropped Emmett off at the steps to the school. Students rushed in from cars, buses, and bikes thrown onto the front lawn. Kids sat on the stairs holding water bottles and their bookbags, gossiping on the other teens passing by, and boys duked it out in the grass, staining their light colored jeans that were littered with tears.

It was 7:30 in the morning, but the sun was already sweltering. There was no breeze either to help, and Emmett feared if he stood outside too long his skin would simply melt off of his form. He was clad in knee length black cargo shorts and a simple Guns n Roses shirt, his “gray” hair combed nicely but still refused to lay flat. Emmett started to climb the steps and walked through the doors only to be shoved into the lockers to his left. 

At least a thousand scenarios flew through Emmett’s thoughts when he slammed against the doors. Was this one of the kids from the cafeteria, or just someone looking for a new kid to pick on? Emmett was mentally prepared to turn and peak at the silhouette standing tall behind him, but he had to force his body to turn. When it came to flight or fight, Emmett chose the alternate option: freeze like a deer in the headlights. 

As he peeked over his shoulder, Emmett felt sweat begin to drip down his back. What he saw first was the puff of brown hair on top of a head that was around 4 inches shorter. Then the skeptically raised eyebrows, the left one with a scar through it that started on his temple and ended just a little under the brow. Torin smiled and chuckled quietly, looking at Emmett with a confused look. 

“You good, Grey? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.” Torin dipped his head down to better meet Emmett’s eyes. Emmett released the breath he had been holding and leaned against the lockers, seriously wondering what was wrong with himself. 

“What are you doing here?” Emmett said once he caught his breath, doing whatever he could to avoid eye contact with the shorter male. 

“Well, last time I checked I went to the same shitty school as you, so I guess the better question is why are you here so early, Grey?” 

“I wanted to figure out m- why do you keep calling me Grey?” Emmett put his hands up in front of himself to act as a barrier between the two to prevent Torin from getting any closer. 

Torin just flashed one of his famous grins and swiveled behind Emmett and opened the locker behind him, pulling out a packet of gummy worms. Torin shrugged as he ripped the bag open and popped an unsuspecting sugary worm into his mouth, and propped an arm up on the locker.   
“I don’t know, I think it suits you, it’s different, just like your hair.” Torin gleamed, his eyes disappearing from his rising cheeks, his smile simply too bright. Emmett was taken aback, his stomach doing the twisty thing he hated so much. Torin pulled a worm out from the package and pushed it between Emmett’s lips and into his mouth without a word. Emmett choked softly before he chewed it, furrowing his eyebrows at Torin. Emmett wondered where Torin gained the audacity, watching as Torin nibbled on another worm, watching something at the other end of the hallway. Emmett took this chance to really take a good look at Torin, seeing just how different they really looked. The shorter's skin was tanned from endless hours in the sun, with freckles dancing down his cheeks all the way down his neck, shoulders, arms, and hands. Scars were scattered around various parts of his body and face. A little one crept up the middle of his chin, with another one stretched from the base of his neck to his collarbone. A ragged, dark, purplish colored scar started at the elbow of his right arm and traveled all the way down to the top of his wrist in a painful looking path. Despite his height, Torin actually had large, calloused hands. His fingers were on the thin side, the knuckles giving them beautiful dips and curves. 

Torin caught Emmett staring at him, and a smile slowly formed on his lips. This inner city kid was showing himself to be quite interesting, Torin thought to himself. So quite, and thoughtful. He could always see the cogs turning in Emmett’s head, watching as he burned himself out mentally within minutes. 

It was quite impressive. 

“You think too much.” Torin broke the silence. Emmett looked up at Torin with the most offended expression he could muster up, which wasn’t much. Emmett’s mouth moved like a fish ripped from the water, desperately trying to come up with a comeback but ultimately failed. 

“What makes you say that?” Emmett crossed his arms over his chest promptly.

“Your ears turn red when you think really hard, I’ve seen you do it in class.” Torin said as he patted Emmett’s shoulder and walked down the hallway with a lazy but confident walk. Emmett glared at Torin’s back as he walked off, hesitantly reaching up to feel his ear that was indeed hot from the blood rushing through it, but then darted off down the same hallway when he realized he was late for first period. 

Some people enjoyed doing physical activities, like the jocks that had to run at max speed to show off for the giggling cheerleaders in the stands. Or maybe the boys on the wrestling team that threw each other into the soft-but-not-really mats during mat ball. Then there were the kids that absolutely despised P.E. They sat on the outsides of the gym against the folded in stands, some even snacking on chips. Others walked instead of running, very used to ignoring the teachers glaring daggers. 

Emmett didn’t fit into either one of those classes. However, he did fall in an awkward place between the two of them. Literally. 

The teacher sighed, some students gasped and others started laughing. Emmett’s body hit the floor with an absent minded grunt, his elbows already ringing with pain. Now Emmett never claimed to be the quickest or the best at gym class games, but this was just embarrassing. It was almost as if this school was only standing to make Emmett Maxwell’s high school career a living nightmare.

“Is that the new kid?” One chunky jock with red cheeks hollered from the other side of the gym, getting a few nods of agreement around the room. 

“Damn, could barely tell. Thought a baby deer had stumbled into P.E class.” Everyone, including the gym teacher, started to giggle. Emmett began to pick himself up until he felt a foot being planted on his back keep him pinned to the floor.   
Emmett released a sigh and let his head rest against the cool laminated floor. His patience was wearing thin, but he knew he had no place to act on it. He didn’t really feel like getting beat up on his second day of highschool. Emmett slowly peered back over his shoulder, seeing the chunky jocks foot on the middle of his back with a few of his buds around him, all giving the same try-hard badass smile. 

“What's your name, new kid?”

“Emmett.” 

The jocks laughed, and the bigger one shook his head. 

“Where did you come from, Amish country?” 

“No, I came from Nev-” Emmett was suddenly interrupted by a swift kick to the stomach. The teacher then finally decided to intervene, waving all of the guys away but couldn’t be bothered to help Emmett, or to even see if he was okay. 

“Hey, you alright?” A soft, gravely voice came from behind Emmett, a hand coming to his shoulder. It felt smooth, and small. It must’ve been a girl, Emmett thought. 

“Yeah, I’m alright.” He said as he pushed himself to his feet and brushed himself off, knowing there had to have been a nicely planted boot shape on the back of his white shirt. 

“Those guys like to pick on the newbies when their regular victims aren’t here.” The girl scoffed. Emmett looked down to where the voice was coming from, and his eyes widened in surprise. The girl was no taller than five foot, with a childlike face. Her demeanor didn’t match it whatsoever, though. Her eyes looked like that of a raccoons with a silver eyebrow piercing in her left eyebrow. The girls skin was pale, paler than Emmett’s even. She stood in dirty converse that looked worn beyond their years, with ripped black skinny jeans and an AC/DC shirt that was bleached in a couple spots. 

Despite the amount of fear she placed into Emmett, he found her pretty in an odd way, like a punk princess. She stood out a reasonable amount from the other students that all were kids that grew up in rough, torn up households. Although she could very well be in the same situation as all those other kids, Emmett felt something about her was more refined than them. 

The girl stared up at Emmett as he lost himself in thought, her eyebrows furrowing slowly. 

“You there?” She snapped her fingers in Emmett’s face to bring him back to reality. He let out a startled ‘huh?’ as a warm blush enveloped his cheeks. 

“Ah, my bad. They might’ve knocked something loose.” Emmett chuckled nervously, the girls expression stone cold but her eyes held warmth. She nodded and nibbled on her thumbnail, her other arm crossed over her chest. Seemingly deep in thought, Emmett tried to walk away to leave her be, only to be grabbed by the wrist by a cold hand.

“What’s your name, Emmett, right?” The girl spoke up out of nowhere. 

Emmett turned around, looking down at the girl with a hesitant smile. The way she had said that made it sound like his name was being spread around the school, some big news or phenomenon. His heart immediately began to race, millions of worried thoughts buzzing, cramming their way into his head. 

“Uh, yeah. What’s yours?” 

“Mary,” she whispered softly, holding eye contact with Emmett. Something in her look was different from her default harsh expression. Something softer, something that Emmett found comforting. Like maybe he wasn’t the only kid in this school that was an outcast. 

Little did Emmett know, he was right. Mary did end up being his ally. The duo traversed some classes together, others they were on the opposite sides of the school. But the one thing Emmett admired about Mary was her attitude. Her demeanor was sufficient enough to keep the mean girls from bothering her, and she was just nasty enough to defend herself from the jocks or hood kids. A few times Emmett was lucky enough to see Mary put her skills into action. It wasn’t something Emmett looked forward to seeing, no. 

But it was definitely something that was awe inspiring, he would give it that. 

The day was already pretty terrible, Emmett thought as he met Mary at the front of the school. Dark, heavy clouds hung themselves over the sky, effectively blocking out the sun. A soft breeze swung by, making the low 60s outside feel like 50s. Emmett pulled the sleeves of his thin black sweatshirt down his arms, and crossed them under his chest. 

“God I hope it rains, we need it.” Mary groaned, popping a cherry sucker into her mouth, a bored expression laid upon her face. 

Emmett chuckled lightly, spotting a pair of juniors grab each other by the arms and toss themselves to the ground in front of the science lab. The two spat insults at each other as they swung like their lives depended on it. He quietly swerved the intense battle, making sure Mary didn’t get sucked up in between them. 

A few weeks had passed since Emmett’s first day at his new high school. And although he was scared to admit it, Emmett was getting used to the craziness that happened on a regular basis. Seeing blood and teeth on the linoleum was not something he dreamed of seeing in his freshman year of high school, but it offered itself to be something very frequently spotted. The second quarter of the school year was rapidly approaching, and it eased Emmett’s mind but also panicked it. 

This year was passing by quickly. He was glad he adjusted to his new life on the East coast, but it was something he wanted to take in, not just “get used to” or learn to live with. Emmett was sure, very sure in fact, that there would be a time that would bring him back to reality, he just wasn’t looking forward to it. 

Oddly enough, that day was today. 

“What in the hell are you doing?” Emmett heard a voice shout down the hallway behind him and Mary, accompanied by the thunder of running feet. In a split second, something had tackled Emmett to the ground, sending him rolling in a heap of limbs and grunts. 

“Jesus Torin did you plan on folding the poor kid like a lawn chair?” Mary said with a sigh, yanking Torin to his feet by the collar of his shirt. 

Torin. 

Someone that Emmett found himself puzzled about how he ever forgot the rambunctious boy. Emmett slowly peeked up from his behind his arm, seeing Torin pout as Mary chewed him out. 

‘They know each other?’ Emmett thought it was odd, believing fully that Torin was someone that Mary would despise with her whole being. 

“Come on Grey, get up, that floor is not somewhere you wanna relax, it might melt your skin off.” Torin said as he offered Emmett a hand, and yanked him to his feet with surprising strength. 

“Grey?” Mary said quizzingly. 

“Yeah, it’s the nickname I gave him, look at his hair. You can’t tell me it doesn’t fit him. And even if you do tell me that, you’re wrong.” Mary slyly covered her mouth with her hand as to be in thought, but it was really to hide one of her rare smiles. She looked at Emmett as he wiped his jeans off and picked his bookbag up from the floor. It was a different kind of name, and Grey would definitely suit the freshman better than ‘Emmett’ in this school- a name that would help him blend in. 

“Yeah, I do like it. It fits you.” Mary coughed, a subtle blush creeping over her cheeks. 

Torin grinned, before hollering, “That’s the spirit! I told you you’d like him.”


End file.
